Daycare Insurance: I Wish I’d Known To Ask

My kids are 13 and 17, long past the age of daycare, but when they were little, I researched all the possible daycare centers we considered sending them to by asking about their philosophy, checking how well-maintained the facilities were, and how warm and inviting they felt, but I wish I’d known to ask about Daycare Insurance back then as well.

Accidents happen. We hope they don’t happen to our children, of course, but they sometimes do. Both my boys were hurt at school (not daycare); one broke his tooth and the other needed stitches in his lip. We were lucky that these were minor accidents, and both my kids are fine, but my point is: these things happen.

It turns out, in the state of California, neither in-home daycares nor daycare centers are required by licensing to have insurance. But those that do carry it are offering their customer families wonderful piece of mind.

If your child is injured in daycare, the cost of treatment would likely come out-of-pocket from your deductible. And it’s even possible your insurance wouldn’t cover the costs at all, citing the daycare center’s liability.

Parents need to ask.

Trust me: neither one of my kids is allowed to get into a car with an uninsured driver. I ask the questions because the right answers give me piece of mind.

When we hire a contractor we ask about insurance, and it should be the same with our kids’ daycare centers. Insurance is a sign of professionalism. Even if nothing ever happens at the daycare, you want your child entrusted to someone who takes their business seriously.

Parents should ask if their daycare provider carries liability and accident medical insurance, at least in the amount of $20,000. This amount would cover the medical costs if a child is injured in their care.

So although it may not be something we want to think about, accidents do happen, so add the question of insurance to the list of things to ask your daycare center.

Sarah Auerswald is the co-Founder of MomsLA.com. This post is part of a sponsored awareness campaign by DC Insurance Services, Inc., providing Day Care Insurance in California since 1968.

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